Gotta Go Back in Time
by mmooch
Summary: When Buffy became her costume, she really became her costume. Watch out, past! **Warning: Torture scene in chapter 4!**
1. Chapter 1: Tracking the Changes

**Gotta Go Back in Time**

Summary: When Buffy became her costume, she _really_ became her costume. Watch out, past!

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. characters belong to . I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

A/N: Thanks to my betas…zigpal, ktweaver and AshDawnSoulmates.

**Chapter 1: Tracking the Changes**

**Sunnydale  
Just after the spell kicked in…**

Willow watched in horror as her best friend – besides Xander – disappeared before her non-corporeal eyes. She had turned into a ghost, but Buffy just vanished! The distraught redhead grabbed the GI Joe Xander and ran to Giles for help.

A stray comment about their costumes coming from a new store called _Ethan's_ solved the issue of everyone turning into the characters they wore. Unfortunately, it didn't solve Buffy's disappearance. They reversed the spell, then went back to the library to talk about her situation.

Giles felt his own concern for his Slayer magnified by the fear on the teenagers' faces. "Do you remember what or who she went as?" he inquired.

"A noblewoman from the 18th century," Willow answered. "She saw that picture of Darla and decided to dress like that, thinking that was the kind of woman Angel would like."

The Watcher's eyes widened in alarm. He rushed to his books and grabbed one. "Oh dear. Is this the book that she looked at?" he demanded.

Willow nodded. "Uh-huh."

Xander raised his hand tentatively. "Uh, G-man? Why is it glowing?"

"Don't call me that. It's glowing because the contents have been magically changed." Giles removed his glasses to rub them – a way to calm himself. "I have a sinking suspicion of when Buffy went."

"Don't you mean where?" Willow wondered, thinking he misspoke, a rarity for him.

But Giles shook his head despondently, "No, I mean _when_. Since Buffy was trying to re-create the image of the picture in here, she _became_ the person in question – or rather, the vampire."

Xander looked sickened by the revelation. His hero was the enemy? "The Buffster's a bloodsucker now?"

"She's _Darla_?" Willow tried to clarify.

Suddenly, Xander looked confused. "Who's Darla?" he asked.

"Angel's sire," Willow explained.

"Who's Angel?" Xander asked again, still confused.

Then Willow looked puzzled as well. "Hmm, I don't know. I mean, I did a second ago, but it's gone now."

Giles appeared intrigued by the situation now – even though he was still worried about his charge. "It would appear that Buffy has changed history somehow. We need to find all references of the vampire, Darla from after this time period. I think that it's important if we want to discover what happened to Buffy. It should be simple. Just look for any glowing books; those will have the most recent magical changes."

After a few minutes, Willow looked up from her book and announced, "Okay, this one says that Darla went missing after the rest of the Aurelian clan was wiped out. The original text, though, said Darla sired Angelus – 'The one with the angelic face'. They went on to become two of the most feared vampires in Europe."

A short time later, Xander was the one who spoke up, "And this one says that the Watchers Council got a seer, Drusilla, after she met a vampire who convinced her to use her gift to help others. Before it said that Angelus sired Drusilla, who went on to sire William the Bloody and the four of them became known as the Scourge of Europe."

Giles looked up from his pile of old diaries and said, "And there's a lot of routine entries in these books which replaced exploits of those vampires."

"So we're thinking what? That Buffy became Darla, but didn't sire Angelus?" Willow theorized.

Xander saw something and tried to get the others' attention, "Uh, guys--"

"That would be the most reasonable explanation," Giles answered, ignoring Xander.

Who tried again, "Guys--"

Willow took her theory one step further, "You think she wiped out the Aurelian clan?"

"If she did, then that would indicate she had control over her vampiric urges. For her to turn on her clan and sire…that's unprecedented!" Giles declared, both excited and concerned that Buffy could have accomplished such a feat. Excited for obvious reasons, but concerned for what that would do to history.

"_Guys_!" Xander yelled, tired of being overlooked.

Startled, Willow asked, "What, Xander?"

He pointed to a different stack of books. "Giles' diaries are glowing."

Giles grabbed one and read. "Dear lord! In the original timeline, instead of dying at the hands of Kakistos as I remember writing, she died at the hands of the Master – who was the sire of Darla."

Willow took another one. "Ooo! This one says that Angelus was cursed with a soul by some gypsies and became Angel. He was here, helping Buffy out. But the changed version said that she received notes about the things he warned her of – along with a silver cross."

"And I received the Codex from an anonymous source as well," Giles added thoughtfully.

"A vamp helping a Slayer?" Xander asked, looking very doubtful.

Looking further in the diary he was holding, Giles stated, "These entries mention a teacher by the name of Jenny Calendar who assisted us with different demons. Do you remember anyone named that? She was the computer teacher."

Shaking her head, Willow corrected him, "No. The computer teacher is Mr. Franklin."

"I wonder why she isn't here?" Xander thought aloud.

Giles grew suspicious of the unknown woman. "I can't say, but I doubt that it was any good. Although she helped us, apparently something Buffy changed, kept this woman from coming here. It could have been that she was looking for the best time to strike at us. It would be best to see if we could discover anything about her."

Willow moved to the computer and said, "I'll check it out on the internet."

Xander grabbed another book and remarked, "And I'll keep looking through the books for changes."

As they followed the changes in history, it appeared that Buffy had made some fairly large ripples in time. Some lasting, others not so much. For example, Drusilla made great changes to the Council – most importantly, she convinced them to do away with the barbaric ritual, the Cruciamentum. She said that it would cost them many great Champions and eventually those Champions would turn on them and fight the good fight without the Council. On the other hand, the Slayers killed by William the Bloody were killed a short time later by other creatures of evil.

What the books didn't show was that Drusilla kept some of her visions to herself, knowing that telling the Council about the time-traveling Slayer would result in hundreds or thousands of deaths – including her own – if they attempted to stop it from happening. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she didn't want to be the monster she saw in a different life. It was better this way, she just knew it.

-----------------------------

A/N: Next…From Buffy's side.


	2. Chapter 2: Becoming a New Woman

**Chapter 2: Becoming a New Woman**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. characters belong to . I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

A/N: After a little bit, Buffy's name will change to suit her new 'life' in the past. She isn't exactly either Buffy or Darla anymore, but a mixture of the two.

A/N2: Thanks to my betas…zigpal, ktweaver and AshDawnSoulmates.

-----------------------------

**Galway, Ireland**

**1753**

Buffy shook her head to clear the fuzziness that overcame her. When she opened her eyes, it wasn't Sunnydale with little trick-or-treaters running around that she saw; it was some old-time village place. What the Hellmouth was going on here? Oh crap! The Hellmouth! Something must have happened. But what?

She touched the sleeve of a passing gentleman and inquired, "Pardon me, kind sir, but I've been injured and have lost my memory." She didn't talk like that. Who was she channeling?

The man smiled warmly in greeting. "How can I help you, miss?"

"Could you tell me where I am and…it may sound unusual, but what year it is?" Buffy asked, hoping that he wouldn't call the authorities and have her locked up.

But he just looked sympathetically at her. "Ah, ye poor lass. This here is the village of Galway in Ireland and it is currently the Year of Our Lord, seventeen hundred and fifty-three. Do you require medical attention?" he offered.

Buffy tried to think; that place sounded familiar to her somehow. "No, but maybe you could direct me to someplace to get a bite to eat?"

"Surely. You can come home with me. My wife makes the finest pot of stew you've ever tasted," he boasted.

"Thank you…" she trailed off, unsure of how to address him.

He took her hand and gallantly bowed over it. "Seamus O'Connor at your service, milady."

Buffy blushed at his literally old World manners. "Thank you, Master O'Connor. Umm, I guess I should think of something you can call me," she replied absently.

"My daughter's name is Kathleen, or Kathy, and my wife's is Bridgett. Or we could ask them to help us," Seamus suggested.

She nodded her agreement, then asked, "Oh, do you have any other children?"

His eyes darkened, either in anger or shame. "Sadly, yes. And I must caution you to watch yourself around my son, Liam. He is quite the wastrel and will likely do whatever he can to rob you of your innocence," he warned her.

"Then I shall do my best not to succumb to his charms," Buffy promised as they stopped at the door to his home. She followed him in, having received his invitation to cross the threshold.

Seamus called out, "Family! We have company. This young lady has somehow lost her memory and needs our help," he explained.

The little girl ran up to Buffy in excitement. "Ooo, you are very pretty! Like a life-size dolly," she declared.

Buffy laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. "Thank you. You must be Kathleen. You are very pretty as well," she returned the compliment.

Heartened by the instant bond between his daughter and the young stranger, Seamus confided, "We were hoping that maybe you two could help us come up with a name we can call her."

Kathleen beamed at the news. "Can I name you?" she pleaded. Buffy nodded, thinking that if it were really bad, she could just change it when she left this place. "Then I choose…Nya."

Buffy rolled it over in her mind several times, getting the feel for it. "That's an unusual name, isn't it?"

"Somewhat. It means champion. Why did you choose that, Kathleen?" Seamus inquired of his daughter.

The little girl shrugged. "It just feels right for her."

"Then Nya it shall be. Greetings to you, Miss Nya," Seamus greeted her again formally.

Buffy turned to the lady of the house to address her, "Thank you for welcoming me into your home, Mistress Bridgett. Your family is very kind."

"It is our Christian duty to help those in need. Do you have any injuries that need tending to?" Bridgett wondered. There was something different about this young lady; she could just tell that helping her was the right thing to do.

"I haven't felt any. I simply woke up feeling groggy and had no idea where I was," Buffy replied, feeling bad for lying, but knowing she couldn't tell them the truth.

-----------------------------

After dinner, Buffy was given nightclothes to sleep in. She was confused by the conflicting thoughts she'd been having all night. Suddenly, she had a horrible revelation and rushed to the nearest reflective surface, only to discover her fears were real…there wasn't anything looking back at her.

It was then that she remembered _who_ she dressed as for Halloween. Fate had a sick sense of humor to turn the Slayer into the vampire who sired Angel. And that reminded her that she was in the village where he was born. Had he already been turned or could she stop that from happening? _Should_ she?

A voice in her head that sounded like Giles said it was wrong to tamper with history; you never knew what the slightest changes could do. And not turning Angel into a vampire would make really big changes. Not just to history, but _her_ history. If she did this, she would have to make sure to do the good things Angel did.

Then another thought startled her. She just spent the evening with humans, eating regular food and talking to them. Shouldn't she have killed them and drank their blood – or however that worked? But the thought of feeding the vamp way sickened her. So she was a vampire that didn't drink blood? What else was different about her?

She was invited in, so she didn't know if the invitation rule applied to her or not. Umm, holy objects…Wait! She was still wearing the necklace Angel gave her when she first got to Sunnydale. Did that mean he was already turned? But it did answer the question of whether she could touch crosses. As curious as she was, she wasn't going to test the staking rule – or beheading for that matter.

Let's see, what did that leave she could try? Holy water and sunlight. Well, the latter should be simple enough. In the morning, the family would probably expect her to go outside. Although, maybe it would be better to test it without them nearby so she didn't scare them. There were other buildings she could stay in until dark if necessary. When it got closer to dawn, she could go to one of those.

If that didn't kill her, she could check the holy water, and maybe find a house to try to enter without an invitation. But first she should rest.

-----------------------------

**Shortly before dawn…**

Buffy/Darla/Nya – man, she had too many names right now – slipped into her 'costume' and snuck out the door to the nearest building to wait for the dawn. Should she just walk into the sunlight and end Darla's existence? But then she couldn't keep track of Angelus – if he was turned yet – or keep herself safe in the future. In the end, she decided to be cautious and take it slow until she knew if there was an Angelus or not.

As if the Powers heard her, a man entered the courtyard just as the sun began to appear. She recognized him even though she had never seen him in the sunlight. So he was still human! Carefully making her way into the light, she was pleased to see it didn't hurt her either.

Before she could rejoice in that bit of news, she was sickened to witness her former crush's assault on the young woman who worked for the family. She rushed across the courtyard to save the poor girl from being raped by him.

Immediately after she yanked him off his victim, Seamus came storming out of the house. He tore into Liam for disgracing the family this way and kicked him out. Then he took the serving girl and Buffy back into the house, where he thanked her for helping out – even if she put herself at risk by doing so. His daughter named her well, for she certainly was a champion and proved it that morning.

Unable to stay in the same village with the disappointment that was Liam, Nya – she decided to go with that name – pretended to regain some of her memory. She claimed to have family in England that she could go to until she was fully well again. It just hurt too much to see that face and think of the ensouled vampire she was on her way to falling in love with. How could her Angel be _him_?

The goodbyes were surprisingly tear-filled for only having known them a few days. Seamus insisted on giving her some money to help her until she got home, saying that it was the least they could do for saving their family from the scandal if Liam had succeeded in raping the girl. Since she didn't have any other choice, she reluctantly accepted the coins and left.

-----------------------------

A/N: Next…Nya starts affecting history even more.


	3. Chapter 3: Making Choices

**Chapter 3: Making Choices**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. characters belong to . I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

A/N: Thanks to my betas…zigpal, ktweaver and AshDawnSoulmates.

-----------------------------

**London**

**6 months later…**

Taking the scenic route around the British Isles, Nya kept slaying vampires and demons. But mostly, she was learning more about herself and Darla. Wow, she never thought she'd ever feel sorry for the _thing_ that sired Angel. And it was doubtful Darla ever thought much about her human history once she was turned by the Master.

_Nobody_ should have to suffer like that! Nya wondered if that had some part in why Darla had been alright with becoming a monster. She had already suffered at the hands of the worst _human_ monsters; what's the difference in becoming a demonic one? By the time the Master had come around, Darla was so twisted up, that she already confused pain with pleasure, having had to fake it for the ones who tormented her privately, then condemned her publicly. Wasn't there a book like that? The Scarlet Letter or something?

So when the torture continued at the hands and fangs of the Master – _eww_ to those mental images of Darla's past! – it didn't even faze the undead former prostitute. She had learned at far too early of an age that her body wasn't her own; it belonged to whoever her mother and father rented it to.

After a while, Nya had to shut the memories off. She taught herself to put up mental walls around the persona of Darla and just sneak peeks when she needed info about the time or place they were. It was from one of those glances, Nya found out the Master had a lair in London. If she was lucky, she could take care of him now – damn the consequences to the timeline.

It was laughably easy to clear the nest. 'Darla' informed her sire that a Slayer was seen in the area, and _'could she take the others to hunt the bitch?'_ The Master beamed proudly at his favorite childe before ordering everyone to capture the Slayer, but to bring her to him alive!

Two hours later, a slightly askew Darla 'stumbled' back into the lair alone. He angrily demanded to know where the Slayer was. "What happened out there? Where is the Slayer?"

Nya smirked. "Oh, didn't I tell you before? She's standing in front of you."

Startled by her attitude and words, the Master gasped, "You? How could _you_ be a Slayer?"

"Not sure. Doesn't really matter anymore, now that your minions are dust, _Master_," she snarled the name sarcastically.

"You shall pay for your treachery!" he declared before attacking her in a rage.

Nya just fended off his blows with ease. "Please. I killed you before and I can kill you again – especially now that I have vampire strength added to my own."

Just as she plunged the stake into his unbeating heart, _Buffy_ whispered to him, "You will _never_ get the chance to hurt those I care about."

-----------------------------

**London**

**1860**

Her life continued on this way for over a century: killing the baddies. Only now, she took the spoils of war. Apparently she was immortal, but with basic human needs, so she needed money to take care of those needs. And it's not like the dusted vamps or slain demons needed the jewels or coins anymore. The only exception to this was if she recognized the artifacts and knew who they belonged to. If there was somebody to return them to, she did. If there wasn't… well, the local church got a donation. She didn't need to be greedy about it.

After she spent some time in the newly-formed United States, she decided to head back to the Motherland, and how weird was it that she thought things like that? But Giles would have been so jealous that she got to spend time with the founders of the US. Even if he was an Englishman, his love of history would have overshadowed any patriotism.

Her time there was mostly spent just talking to the men. She was afraid that if she got involved in the fighting, she'd screw things up. She probably shouldn't have even gone to the colonies, but she was tracking a demon, and it led her onto a ship heading that way. By the time she finished killing the thing, and found out what was happening, they were already out to sea.

What Nya didn't know was that her conversations with three such men ended up in the history books. At least the paraphrase of things she told them.

She said to Patrick Henry, _"__What is the reason for being alive if you are not free?"_

This was changed into the famous line: "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" **Patrick Henry - March 23, 1775.**

Another time, she was talking to Samuel Adams and told him, _"__If you do not have something to fight for, you will not fight. My friends and family are my something."_

He shared that wisdom with another, writing: "He who is void of virtuous Attachments in private Life, is, or very soon will be void of all Regard for his Country. There is seldom an Instance of a Man guilty of betraying his Country, who had not before lost the Feeling of moral Obligations in his private Connections." **Samuel Adams** - **Letter to James Warren, November 4, 1775.**

But her favorite man to talk to was Benjamin Franklin. He was so down to earth, yet so wise. He reminded her of Giles. Perhaps that's why she told him, _"If you do not stick together as a team, your enemies will be able to get rid of you easier."_

When it came time to make the formal decision to stand against England, he told the other men gathered: "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately (attributed)." **Ben Franklin **- **At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.**

Now they were gone, so here she was…back in London. Nya was bemused to find the Watchers Council's headquarters. She even talked to several of them, testing to see if any could tell what she was. Yet even the Slayers couldn't sense the demon within her. Made life simpler for her. She didn't want to have to fight the good guys.

One night, she was in a church, collecting holy water. She overheard a young girl in the confessional crying out that she was cursed. She was convinced that her ability to see the future was evil, and the narrow-minded priest wasn't really helping the poor thing out with his interrogation.

So, Nya waited outside for her. She was stunned to see Drusilla standing in front of her. And she knew it was Spike's crazy girlfriend – although he wasn't alive yet, was he? The only difference was this Drusilla wasn't completely loony-tunes. Probably because Angelus didn't exist to break her mind and spirit.

"Good evening, Drusilla," Nya greeted her, stepping from the shadows.

Drusilla's eyes widened in fear when she saw who it was. She had dreamed of this being. "What does the ender of demons want with me? Am I a demon?" she cried.

Nya grabbed her and shook her to make sure she had Drusilla's full attention. "Of course not! You may not believe it, but you can help a lot of people with your ability."

"It's evil! My family and the church believe so. The only way to purify me, is to take the vows," Drusilla managed to explain through her tears.

Nya took her hand and stroked it comfortingly. "Is it evil to save people's lives with your vision? Do you honestly think it is better to hide in the church, ignoring this than it is to share it with others? Others who will use what you tell them to protect the world?" she encouraged the young seer.

Drusilla stopped crying and gaze at her benefactress hopefully. "They would?" she pleaded, desperately wanting this to be a gift and not a curse.

"They might need to prove that you truly have the sight, but I think they would. If they do not, I would not mind having a companion," Nya offered, almost wishing that the Council would refuse Drusilla. But she knew that was her own selfishness talking. The seer would be better off with the Watchers and Slayers.

"Would you turn me so I could stay with you forever?" Drusilla inquired with her deep, soulful eyes boring into Nya's.

The daywalker shook her head, "No. This is not a good thing. I was fortunate; it is doubtful that if I turned anyone, they would have the same luck."

Drusilla seemed to understand. Given her talent, she probably understood better than Nya how it happened. "Can I meet these people? Who are the observers?"

"The Watchers Council. They help the Enders of Demons – except they use the phrase 'Vampire Slayers'." Nya took a moment to make sure Drusilla understood the importance of what she was about to say. "But you can't tell them about me, alright?"

"Certainly not! They do not see shades of gray, only black and white," Drusilla agreed.

Nya brought Drusilla to the Council, and the seer passed the tests with no trouble. In fact, she was the strongest one they had. Although they said their goodbyes, Drusilla promised to tell Nya of any visions that affected her or her future.

Over time, Nya got the sense of which vampires and demons she could slay without hurting her timeline too much. It didn't stop her from killing any she came across, but it did keep her from hunting them down. The Three were ones she did go after since she knew Angel wouldn't be there to save her.

Sadly, she knew one death she couldn't stop was Merrick's. She wouldn't have tried so hard with Lothos if it weren't for avenging his death. And she might not have moved to the Hellmouth either. Nya had to be sure Buffy was there for the Halloween spell that sent her back in history.

Nya stayed close during the time leading up to Buffy's Calling as the Slayer. Each generation of seer since Drusilla had one that would share necessary information about threats to that particular Californian Slayer without informing the Council. She stayed in the States, and sent the occasional note about events Angel was supposed to affect. But she had her own battles to fight against the forces of darkness.

-----------------------------

A/N: Next…Not sure, _should_ there be a next? Nya meeting up with the Gang post-Halloween?


	4. Chapter 4: A New Fight

**Chapter 4: A New Fight**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. characters belong to . I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Blade characters belong to Marvel Comics and New Line Cinema.

**Additional WARNING:** Some seriously dark behavior on Nya's part coming up. Torture-type behavior. Honestly…we're talking FR18 or FR21 here folks!

A/N: Slight canon change here. _'Lie To Me'_ came before _'Halloween'_.

A/N2: Thanks to my betas…zigpal, ktweaver and AshDawnSoulmates.

-----------------------------

**Paris**

**1867**

Well, it took just over a hundred years as a daywalker and the help of a seer friend, but Nya finally learned there were two classes of vampires. The ones she was used to dealing with, and the others called themselves 'Purebloods' – vampires who were actually _born_ that way.

Nobody could explain to her how that was possible, so she just figured it was some kind of mutation from way back in the vampire line. Then she decided it didn't really matter since they were all evil and needed to die anyway.

The disturbing thing about those Purebloods was that they were sneakier than other vamps. Ones like the Master were all into carnage and ending the world. But these other guys simply wanted to _rule_ it – with the humans still there to be their slaves and food source. Sick part was their plan actually made more sense to Nya than the Master's.

Even more unnerving was _how_ they were going to control everything. The human world wouldn't even know they were being ruled by the bloodsuckers – except for those that chose to become vampire familiars.

Those idiots were like those nutcases Ford hung out with. At least he was terminally ill; the teensiest, tiniest part of her brain kinda, sorta got where he was coming from. Or she would have if she didn't know the truth about what happened after a person was turned.

Now, of the two classes of vampires, Nya decided that the Purebloods were really the bigger threat…in the long run. She could even envision them growing so powerful that one day they could even be open about their vampirism. Maybe even get themselves classified as citizens somehow.

She shuddered. _'Undead Americans.'_ What kind of world would that look like? She, for one, didn't want to find out. So, while she killed the 'lesser' vamps when she came across them, she actively hunted the Purebloods across the globe.

Occasionally, she would run across somebody who wanted to join her fight – usually out of a need for revenge for a loved one's death. If the current seer she was in contact with okayed the person, she would train them, then send them out with the warning to stay under the Council's radar. It wasn't long before she had a worldwide network of hunters.

And it was on one of her hunts that she met Whistler.

-----------------------------

**The Ozarks**

**1961**

Nya was tracking a particularly sadistic Pureblood when she heard the screams from a nearby cabin. She raced towards it, hoping to stop the vampire in time. As the smell of blood hit her nostrils upon entering, she knew that she had failed. But there was still one that she could save. By the looks of him, he was the father/husband of the dead females.

Then Nya caught the smell of sex hanging in the air, and her fury ignited fully. It wasn't enough for these monsters to kill or feed? They had to violate their victims as well? And in front of the man who would feel responsible for their safety! This one would get no mercy from her.

As Buffy, she had only tortured the one time, and that was to find out where her friends were. As Nya, however, she became quite adept at hurting the monsters. If she had ever left any alive, she would have had the most fearsome reputation in the underworld. But since she didn't want any reputation at all, she always killed those she came in contact with. It was what kept her off the Council's radar as well.

Pulling the vampire off the man, she dragged it out of the cabin and tied it up between two thick trees. No sense in letting it escape because the trees snapped. For the next hour, she used every tool in her arsenal to punish this _thing_ for all of its crimes against humanity. When she took a break, Nya saw the man staring at them from the doorway of the cabin.

Walking over to him slowly, she kept herself as non-threatening as possible, which didn't really work with the vampire's blood staining her skin and clothing. He backed up slightly when she approached.

"I'm not a threat to you, sir. I only wanted to ask if you wanted to kill it," she said softly.

Despite seeing how violent she had been to the vampire, Whistler stepped forward again. "I can see that…I think. Who are you? Is that really a vampire or is my mind making that part up?"

"It _is_ a vampire, and I'm the thing _they_ fear," Nya answered with a glint in her eyes that terrified any vampire or demon that came across her.

Whistler nodded, understanding how that was possible. Then he remembered her offer and asked, "So, how do I kill it?"

Shrugging, Nya explained, "Depends on how much you want it to suffer as it dies. Beheading or staking are relatively painless. Holy water, sunlight or burning cause the most pain. There's just one more thing I want to do before it dies."

"What's that?" Whistler wondered, thinking what could be left?

Nya ground out evenly, "Castrate it."

He watched in horrified fascination as she took a canteen out of her bag, then opened the lid. After checking the gag in the vampire's mouth to be sure it was still firmly in place, she stripped its pants off and shoved its penis into the canteen. Whistler's eyes widened as he watched the sheer agony on the beast's face. Whatever was in the canteen was hurting it intensely. Well, intensely would have to be an understatement given the look on its face.

When she pulled the canteen back, Whistler cringed to see the stump that was left where the liquid didn't touch it. As a man, he felt bad for how much that must have hurt. But the sympathy he felt was minimized by the memory of that thing raping his wife and daughters – the youngest one was only 8 years old.

Still, he decided that she had taken care of punishing it for him, and chose to give it a quick death. Whistler took the offered sword she held out for him – like she expected his choice – and quickly separated the vampire's head from its shoulders. He was startled when it burst into a mist of blood.

"That's how the line of vamps from Purebloods die. Other kinds just turn into dust. Not as messy," Nya recited as if she had said this many times before. "I used a mixture of holy water with flecks of silver on his…" she trailed off.

Whistler just felt empty now. "What do I do now?" he asked absently.

Nya studied him, then made her decision. "That depends; do you want to go on with your life or do you want to stop those things?"

"My family _was_ my life. Can you-- _will_ you teach me?" Whistler corrected himself. She was the scariest thing he'd ever seen, but she just saved him and helped avenge his family's deaths.

"I'll need to have you checked out first, but I have a good feeling that you'll pass, so sure. What do you want to do with…?" she pointed at the cabin.

Feeling completely out of his depth, Whistler left it up to her. "What do you suggest?"

"Do you have any other family that would look for you? Like your wife's family?" Nya inquired after considering their options.

Whistler shook his head, "She was an only child and her folks are dead. Same for me."

"Then grab what you want from the cabin and we'll torch it," she ordered. "The authorities will think that you all died in the fire."

"And when they don't find my body?" Whistler pointed out.

"They'll have a body. While you pack up, I'll get one to put in there," Nya countered.

The tone in her voice worried him. "You aren't going to kill someone, are you?" he checked.

"No. But there are plenty of unclaimed bodies at the morgues." She took in his look of disgust. "Rule one is you can't be squeamish. There's a lot of things that are less pleasant we'll have to deal with."

-----------------------------

**On the road**

**Several hours later…**

"Thank you for saving me," Whistler said softly, breaking the silence since they left his family and home in flames.

Nya's face changed, and she looked compassionate. "I'm sorry I wasn't in time for your family."

"At least you made the vampire suffer for it," he replied cautiously.

"Yeah. Well, rape has always been a sore subject for me – ever since I saw a guy I cared about try to rape a woman. He claimed he was only 'seducing' her, but I know what I saw," she snorted in derision. "From then on, the vampires I catch that I _see_ are rapists earn a more painful death."

Whistler nodded, then asked, "And the human rapists?"

Nya's hands tightened on the steering wheel in an effort to control her anger. "I can't kill them. However, there's nothing that says I can't knock them out and call the police to take care of them."

"Why can't you kill the human ones?" he demanded. "Especially if they deserve it."

She gave him a rueful smile. "That would make me a murderer. Humans have their own system of laws and I'm not part of it. My job is to protect humanity, not just the parts of it I approve of."

"Does it bother you that you may have saved rapists or killers?" Whistler pressed, wondering how much danger he was getting himself into by asking her.

But Nya just sighed, "All the time, but I can't afford to make those kinds of judgments. If I did, where would it end? The whole slippery slope deal."

Whistler took a better look at her then commented, "You sound like you've been doing this a long time, but you hardly look 20 years old."

"I'm a different sort of creature. I was born a regular girl, then when I turned 15, I became a Slayer – a mystically-powered fighter for the side of good," she said. "A couple years later, I dressed up for Halloween in a 18th century noblewoman's costume to impress that guy I mentioned earlier. Something happened and I _became_ the noblewoman I was trying to look like."

Then she chuckled, but it wasn't a happy one. "Only problem was she happened to be a vampire, and the fight between the Slayer essence and the vampire one, the body I was in became something else. Now, there are some similarities between me and vamps, but the Slayer side burned out the evil parts – most importantly, the bloodlust. I have to eat food to survive instead of feeding on people or animals' blood. But I do feel stronger if I have plenty of protein in my diet."

Surprised by her candor, Whistler felt he had to ask, "Why are you telling me all this?"

Nya turned from the road to look him direct in the eye. "Because for the past 100 years, I've been looking for the one the seers have told me will be my partner in my fight. Each time I take on a…student – for lack of a better word – the seer who is alive at that time tells me if that person is the one or not. The seer told me that you will lead me to him. So you get the unedited version of my life."

"Wait! Did you say 100 _years_?" Whistler almost shouted as his mind processed that part of her speech.

"Oops. Did I forget to mention that I was born in 1981?" She gave him an apologetic smile, looking nothing like the killing machine that tortured the vampire before. "The spell that did this to me also sent me back to 1753."

Whistler ran his hands over his face and through his hair several times. "Ahh!" he groaned as if in pain. "You know, I _really_ want to call you a crazy nut and run as fast as I can."

"But…?" Nya prompted.

"This seems normal after learning that vampires are real," he responded with a dry chuckle of his own.

Impressed that she hadn't broken his mind with her tale, Nya declared, "You really _are_ the one!"

-----------------------------

**Colorado**

**1975**

"Hey, Whis? Can you help me tie this guy up for the police?" Nya called out when her friend finally caught up with her. She had been missing for a few hours, and he was worried.

Whistler looked at the man with curiosity. "What's the deal?"

Nya smacked the unconscious guy on the head. "He tried to kidnap me so he could rape me."

Unable to stop himself, Whistler laughed. Of all the women this guy could have picked, and he chose Nya? "What is he? Mental?"

"Well, hopefully I don't have a reputation that he would have heard to warn him that was a bad plan," Nya sort of justified the would-be rapist's choice. She actually was happy he picked her instead of somebody who couldn't fight back.

Worried that the guy would walk, Whistler asked, "You think the police will hold him?"

"Oh yeah. There's plenty of evidence in the car that I'm not the first one he's tried this on," she answered, looking confident.

"What if he escapes before they get here?" Whistler pointed out.

Nya got that scary look on her face, usually reserved for vamps and demons. "Doubt it. He has a broken leg…3 places. Hey, I said I couldn't kill them. Never said I couldn't hurt them," she said defensively.

Whistler held his hands up in surrender, "No complaints from me; not if you know he's a rapist."

"Let's stick around a while to be sure he's taken care of," she said, realizing that she probably overreacted. Nya knew that he trusted her judgment.

They watched the trial of the charismatic man who lured women to their death by preying on their kindness – pretending to be injured and needing help. Turned out he was the suspect in murders and rapes in a few other states as well.

It was a lucky break that the state he was caught in had the death penalty, for which he received for the crimes the police were able to tie him to. His serial killer days were over when the switch was thrown three years after his conviction, saving who knows how many lives? Nya knew she wasn't the one who personally threw the switch, but she felt the satisfaction anyway for stopping him.

-----------------------------

**Detroit**

**1977**

Pulling along a reluctant youth, Whistler informed Nya, "Found a stray."

"What are you talking about?" Nya inquired, looking up from the weapon she was working on. They kept trying to come up with more efficient ways to kill the baddies they fought.

"This kid was feeding on homeless people in broad daylight," Whistler said, knowing there was an inquisition coming and braced himself.

Nya didn't disappoint him. Her eyes narrowed in anger and/or confusion. "A vamp that can go out in the sun? Is there a reason you didn't stake him?"

Not backing down from her glare, Whistler answered honestly, "Just a hunch. You know that partner you were looking for? This could be him. You know it's not me, I can't keep up with you much longer, Nya," he reminded her, pointing to his injured leg.

"Okay. I'll trust your instincts for now, but if he continues to kill, I'm getting rid of him," she threatened.

Tired of being talked about like he wasn't there, the young, black vampire growled indignantly, "Hey! I'm in the room, you know!"

Nya smiled at his attempt to intimidate her. "Uh-huh, and you're really adorable with your bad boy look. Sorry, but it takes a bit more to throw me."

"Who are you?" he asked, kind of bugged that she treated him like a kid.

"Your mentor or your executioner – take your pick," she replied. "Do you want to kill humans or vampires?"

Trying not to pout – because how would she ever take him seriously if he did? – he shot back, "How am I supposed to feed?"

Nya shrugged, not worried about that. "We'll figure something out. Most likely get blood from a hospital or something. So…?" she prompted.

"Alright. We'll try it your way," he said, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Glad you're so enthusiastic about it. What's your name?" she inquired, trying not to roll her eyes or laugh at his attitude.

"Blade."

Nya had to laugh then, and Whistler chuckled under his breath as well. "Doubt it, but if that's what you want to be called. Take a seat and tell us about yourself, Blade."

-----------------------------

A/N: Next…Reunion and goodbyes.


	5. Chapter 5: Catching Up

**Chapter 5: Catching Up**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. characters belong to . I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Blade characters belong to Marvel Comics and New Line Cinema.

A/N: Thanks to my betas…zigpal and AshDawnSoulmates.

-----------------------------

**Sunnydale High School**

**Halloween night 1997**

Blade glanced at the closed library doors as he questioned his mentor/big sister-figure, "Have you figured out how you're going to convince them who you are?"

"_Were._ I'm not that girl anymore," Nya corrected him. She shrugged indifferently, "All I can do is try. If they don't want to believe me, that's their problem."

Whistler knew that this was Nya's past, and she just wanted to close this chapter for the sake of the people who cared for _Buffy_, but he guessed that she really didn't want to deal with a big dramatic scene either. "Just remember, you've got us – no matter what happens," he gently reminded her.

Nya smiled at her boys. "Thanks, guys." She peeked in the library window. "I only see one of them in there. Maybe it would be better if I went in alone. You know, less chance of him freaking out."

"We'll wait out here until you call for us then. Be careful. He may think you're a regular vamp," Blade said. Whistler might be his father-figure, but it was the talks with Nya that helped him realize he could choose his future, despite what he was. He didn't want to risk losing her anytime soon – especially to people she once cared about in another lifetime.

-----------------------------

"Hey, Watcher! Whatcha doing?" Nya called out with a hint of her Buffy persona.

Giles looked up from the text he was studying to see a vaguely familiar woman standing there. "Do I know you?" he inquired, grabbing his cross and stake out of sight.

She shook her head, "Not the way I currently look, but you did when I was a different blonde."

"Buffy?" he asked hopefully. That's where he saw this woman – in the book with the sketching of that vampire Darla.

"Good job! Got it in one!" Nya grinned. She sat down, but not too closely as to alarm her former Watcher.

Giles looked around the empty room, then felt the need to tell her why he was alone, "The others went home for the evening. Willow told your mom you were staying overnight at her place. We hoped to find a way to bring you back before she noticed you were gone," he explained.

Nya scrunched her face in concentration, trying to place the name. In all honesty, the only one she remembered that well was the man in front of her, and even that was spotty. "Willow. That was one of my friends, right?" she guessed.

"Buffy, What's the matter? Have you lost your memory somehow?" Giles looked concerned.

"No, it's just been so long that without look it up, I can't remember stuff from that long ago," she replied casually. Then she added, wanting to make it clear from the get-go how this was going to happen, "By the way, call me Nya."

Giles stood and started towards her, wanting to assure himself of her safety. Something was obviously wrong. "What do you mean? It was less than twelve hours ago. Why are you going by a different name?"

"It's only been that long for you. For me it's been 200…244 years," she did the math in her head. "When I arrived back then, I couldn't really tell anyone the truth, so I let the family that let me stay the night with them name me."

He recoiled at her words, the implication clear to him. "244 years? Then you _did_ become a vampire!" He stuck the cross in her face and gripped his stake even harder.

Nya chuckled softly as she grabbed the cross. When he saw that it wasn't even burning her, he was confused. Even Master vampires couldn't stop the burning; all they could do was not react to it. "Not exactly. But before I explain this, I need your word you won't put this in your diaries or tell the Council."

Giles shook his head to clear it. "What?" he blurted in confusion.

"Promise!" she said vehemently.

Desperate for answers, he agreed, "Alright. I promise. What are you?"

She leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on the table. "I'm not sure there's a term for me. When I went back into Darla's body, the Slayer changed the vampire." Then she went on to explain the changes, and as she was finishing, the sun started to peek in through the window.

Giles was startled to see her sitting in the sunlight without bursting into flames. "Oh, dear lord!" he declared.

Figuring that she had made some progress with him, she decided to invite the others in. "I have a couple friends with me to introduce you to. Hey, guys! Get your asses in here!" she yelled.

When they came in, Nya pointed to Giles and said, "This is my old Watcher, Giles-- I can't remember the rest of the name, sorry." Then she repeated the process the other way, "Giles, these are my students, Abraham Whistler and Blade. Blade is a daywalker, but happens to be a good guy. Whis and I have been together close to 40 years now, and we picked up Blade about 20 years ago."

Reaching out his hand warily, Giles introduced himself fully, "Rupert Giles." He took off his glasses and scrubbed at them – causing a memory to surface for Nya that made her smile softly. "I'm sorry, I can't wrap my head around the idea that you've been around that long – much less taking on students to fight with."

"Yeah." Nya figured it was time to bite the bullet, so to speak. They'd deal with her not staying later. "Well, I suppose we'd better figure out how much I've screwed up the timeline when I went back. I've kept track of the kills that I got names for, and descriptions for the rest. When computers became all the rage, I transferred the info. The originals are stored someplace safe, but I brought a copy for you to look at. I need you to keep it from the Council, though."

Almost drooling over the possibility to have firsthand accounts from his Slayer – however she now looked – Giles readily acquiesced, "Yes, but why do you distrust the Council so much?"

Nya sighed, "Because until 1860, they would perform this test on any Slayer fortunate enough to survive until her 18th birthday."

Even though he read a mention of the Cruciamentum earlier, Giles was sickened by her description of what the test entailed, and even worse, the idea that he might have had to do that to her in just over a year. "What changed then?" he asked.

"The seer I brought to them told them what would happen if they continued to use it," she replied.

Guessing that the seer was Drusilla, who was originally turned by Angelus, Giles prompted, "What's that?"

"The Slayers would stop fighting with the Council; they'd get their support elsewhere," Nya declared bluntly.

"Was that the truth?" he inquired, thinking there was something more to her statement than she was saying.

"In _this_ reality? No clue," she admitted, before amending her comment, "Probably eventually. What Drusilla actually saw, though, was what happened in the original timeline after you did the test on me. Except, _you_ didn't pass the test because you told me when your guilt overwhelmed you. They fired you and sent a new Watcher. I fired him a few months later, then fired the Council. I had you and the others to help me; the Council didn't mean squat to me."

Blade cleared his throat to get Nya's attention, then pointed to the clock.

"Oops. Almost forgot. We have a prophecy to fulfill, but this one's about him, not me," she explained, jerking her thumb in Blade's direction.

"Hey! Why are you sharing my secrets?" the dark daywalker growled. He didn't especially care about her talking, except for she was looking very cozy with this guy, and he was worried she might change her mind about staying.

Nya rolled her eyes. "Oh, please! You're just gonna kill a demon. It's not like I'm sharing your most embarrassing moment or anything," she said with a look that clearly said she might if he continued to push her.

Giles stood as if to stop her. He settled for just asking, "You _will_ be back, though? Xander and Willow are very worried about you."

She appeared conflicted. Nya knew they needed the closure to get on with their lives, but she also didn't want to hurt them anymore than necessary. "Think that's a good idea? I don't look like Buffy; I don't think like her anymore; and I'm not staying here. I only came so you would know what happened to me."

"They'll want to say goodbye, if nothing else," Giles pointed out, trying his best to hide his pain that she would be leaving them.

Against her better judgment, Nya caved, "Alright. But make sure they understand it's the new Slayer's job to come here if there's a need, not mine. Kendra Moore, I think her name is. Watcher's Sam Zabuto," she informed her Watcher, much to his surprise. He didn't know there was a new Slayer – much less what her name was.

But he put that aside for later. "I'll tell them. When will you be back?" he asked.

Nya shrugged, "Not sure. Maybe tonight, tomorrow." She handed the disks to him for them to peruse while they did their prophecy thing – as well as copies of her journals from Whistler onward.

The information was magically protected by some witches she knew – in case anyone else tried to sneak a peek or copy it. Even if they copied it by hand, the words would disappear. She only asked for his promise as a sign of faith in him.

-----------------------------

**Between LA & Sunnydale**

**4 ½ hours later…**

"Well, that certainly was a letdown. Are all prophecies that lame?" Blade remarked with a manly version of a pout.

Whistler smirked at the young daywalker. No matter how scary he was to other creatures, he and Nya had a hard time picturing Blade as anything other than that 13 year old kid they took in all those years ago. "I think it had something to do with the fact he was expecting someone else. Do you know who that Connor was, Nya?"

"Sahjhan mentioned him being the child of Angelus and Darla. Since I became Darla and didn't turn Liam into Angelus, there was no chance for them to create this Connor kid. So, the prophecy shifted from _that_ vamp offspring to Blade. Not an exact match, but still unique enough," Nya offered. Then she scoffed, "Kinda foolish of him not to keep track of the changes in the timeline, though."

"Who knows, maybe it looks different from the outside," Whistler defended, not really caring either way.

Blade gave them his trademark sneer. "I will admit it was funny to see the look on the sucka's face when he realized that I fatally injured him. He was so sure I couldn't even _hurt_ him."

To which Nya replied proudly, "Congrats on surviving your first prophecy, Blade. Much better than I managed. I had to die before I beat my baddie."

-----------------------------

A/N: Okay, this is just annoying me. I really planned on this reunion chapter being the last one, but Musie got an idea that is dragging it out a bit longer. So, no more guessing – on my part – how many chapters are left. When it happens, it happens.

A/N2: Next…Goodbye to Sunnydale and the Scoobies.


	6. Chapter 6: Goodbye to the Past

**Chapter 6: Goodbye to the Past**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way. Yep, a little in this chapter.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. characters belong to . I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Blade characters belong to Marvel Comics and New Line Cinema.

A/N: Thanks to my betas…zigpal, ktweaver and AshDawnSoulmates.

-----------------------------

**Sunnydale High School**

**November 1, 1997**

Nya, Whistler and Blade eavesdropped at the door while Giles was trying to get Willow and Xander to listen to him. She just wanted to get a feel for how bad this was going to get.

"I'm telling you right now, guilting her or pouting at her will not work! If we want any hope of having her keep in contact with us, it has to be on her terms, not ours. She is not the same person who disappeared last night!" Giles ranted, having repeated this before to them.

Her eyes welling up with tears, Willow whimpered, "But she's our friend!"

"Yeah, Big G. She has to know that she belongs here with us. Who else is going to keep the Hellmouth under control?" Xander demanded.

Nya had to restrain Blade to keep him from busting in the room and pounding on Xander. She wanted to hear what her Watcher would say.

"The Slayer will," Giles replied with more calm than he felt.

Willow's head snapped up at his announcement. "But Buffy is--"

Giles cut her off, "Gone. The spell merged her spirit together with Darla's and created a combined personality. The sooner we accept that, the better off we'll be. Kendra Moore is the Slayer now and her Watcher is Sam Zabuto. I informed the Council of the loss of Buffy, and they will be here within days."

"How did you explain it to them?" she inquired, starting to understand that the spell took her best friend, even if she wasn't exactly dead.

"The truth. A sorcerer's spell had unintended consequences which caused the disappearance of the Slayer. They weren't terrible concerned as long as there was still one Slayer around to do the job." Giles shuddered, realizing the callous attitude they had, and that they really would kill Slayers for the sake of controlling them.

Xander was dealing with a different issue, though. "Wait! Let's get back to this combo Buffy/vamp thing. If she's really a vamp, why didn't you dust her? Or why shouldn't we when she gets back?"

Giles stared at the boy as if he had gone insane. "I've spent the last four hours reading her accounts of the past 200 plus years. She's done more for humanity than we could ever hope. Why on earth would we get rid of her?" he asked incredulously.

"She's a vamp!" Xander scoffed. "Those could just be a big bunch of lies she told to get you to lower your guard."

"They match the Council records as well," the Watcher shot back. "Not to mention, if she wanted me dead, they had me outnumbered this morning."

While she could accept the changes, Willow still wondered, "But why can't she still be our friend?"

Giles gave her a sympathetic look, knowing how much this was hurting her. But he guessed that a rejection from Nya would hurt even more, so he needed to get her to accept this now. "The Buffy we knew ceased to be less than a year after she went back. According to her own recollections, Nya is a much more brutal demon hunter than even the First Slayer – and she was practically feral."

"How do you know what the First Slayer was like? Did she have a Watcher?" the young redhead asked, surprised at the mention of the First Slayer.

"No. She fought completely alone. Some of the more mystically connected Slayers have had dreams of her, though and described her to their Watchers," Giles explained.

His mind still focused on one thing, Xander yelled out. "You just proved my point! She's dangerous and we need to get rid of her!"

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose to stem off the headache that was building. "I don't know how to say it any clearer for you. She is only a danger for the demonic community. If you're going to continue like this, I'd suggest you not be here when she returns," he warned the brunette.

Willow looked worried for her friend/crush. "You don't think she'd hurt him, do you?"

"I honestly don't know," Giles replied. "At the very least, she'd just get up and leave without giving us a chance to say goodbye. And even if she didn't get upset, I doubt her companions would appreciate you badmouthing her in front of them."

"Why? Are they monsters, too?" Xander sneered.

Somewhat disappointed – although not entirely surprised – by the boy's antagonistic attitude, Giles responded somberly, "No. According to Nya's journals, Whistler's family was destroyed by a Pureblood by the name of Talek. He joined her after she saved him from being killed. Later, they happened upon Blade, whose mother was turned while she was pregnant with him. For some reason, instead of dying, Blade became what's known to the Purebloods as a daywalker."

-----------------------------

Deciding now was as good a time as any to join in, Nya swung the doors open wide and walked through. After she gave Whistler and Blade quiet orders to control their erupting tempers, that is. Knowing _her_ temper, they reluctantly agreed. She was a woman and therefore could make their lives hell, even without beating up on them.

"We've figured it out why it happened – if not how," Nya called out. "The prophecy Blade took care of today was originally for the 'miracle' child of Angelus and Darla. Since I screwed up that timeline, the Powers got a new vamp kid to take his place."

Xander looked her over scornfully and remarked, "So, you're the monster that got rid of our Buffy."

Nya rolled her eyes at his behavior. She supposed she could understand where he was coming from. Didn't change things, though. "No. If I wanted Buffy dead, I never would have helped her survive until last night."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked, looking for traces of her best friend in this person that stood before them.

But Giles answered for her, having just figured it out himself, "The notes and other items were from you! Including the note to dress as the noblewoman. Why?"

"I knew there was a reason you were my favorite Watcher!" Nya smiled at him, then added, "That, and when she died, Whis here revived her. And she needed to dress as the noblewoman so this timeline remained constant."

Thinking back to that passage from his diary, Giles recalled, "Ah, yes. The original timeline stated that Xander and Angel went down to the Master's lair, and Xander gave her CPR. The revised entry didn't state how she came back; she never told us," he said with a questioning glance at her.

"'Cause I asked her not to," Nya answered.

Still glaring at her, Xander bit out, "Why would she listen to a vamp?"

"C'mon, just let me hit the punk once," Blade pleaded with her softly.

Nya bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. "No! Behave!" she scolded. She then turned to Xander again and responded, "One, she couldn't tell I was a vamp. I don't ping on Slayer's spidey sense. Two, she knew me from her pre-Slayer days. I was the one who encouraged her to be in gymnastics and cheerleading. I remembered from my own history that I only did it to please others. I explained to Buffy that benefits would far outweigh the bad things. The night Kakistos killed her, she told me that I was right."

"You really aren't going to stay here?" Willow asked sadly, already knowing the answer.

"There's evil everywhere in the world," Nya explained kindly. At least the girl was not being a bitch about this like the boy. So, Nya could afford to be nice to her. "I have my own war to fight; one the Council doesn't even know about. My enemy is too slick to be caught by them – at least the way they run things now. That's okay, there's more than enough evil for both methods of fighting. The Slayers have their battles and I have mine. Both are important for mankind to survive," she assured them.

Giles knew they had to deal with Joyce Summers at some point and inquired, "What should we tell your mother?"

Whistler handled this question, "We have a car ready with an unclaimed body that matches Buffy's description. We'll crash it and make sure that the flames make her unidentifiable. What we'd like from you is to identify the personal effects if her mother can't."

"If you're sure…" Willow hesitantly agreed.

Knowing what Willow was talking about, Nya gave them her reasoning, "I know it seems harsh, but she doesn't even accept the reality of the supernatural surrounding her. To have me show up, claiming to be her daughter, but not stay…that's much crueler."

The Watcher agreed and promised, "We'll do it."

Nya moved towards them, avoiding the high-strung Xander to make her goodbyes. "Alright then. You take care of yourselves, and try to help the new girl if you can. If it's really a true emergency, you can call me, and I'll get here as soon as I possibly can. But I'm talking apocalypse emergency, 'k?" she clarified.

After she hugged Willow and Giles, she slipped a card with her number on it to the Watcher. Then she, Blade and Whistler started toward the library doors.

Just as their backs were turned, Xander picked up the crossbow from the table and fired it at Nya, knowing in his heart that it was right thing to do. After all, this creature was there instead of their Buffy; it didn't deserve to exist if she didn't.

Before the bolt could reach her though, Whistler and Blade both sprang into action – Blade pushing Nya out of the way, and Whistler knocking the bolt out of the air with his crutch, showing more speed that imaginable for someone his age and apparent infirmity. Then he turned to face the would-be assassin. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, boy?" he snarled.

"Xander! Why did you try to kill her?" Willow cried out at the same time.

Choosing to answer his best friend instead, Xander declared, "Because that _thing_ killed Buffy!"

Blade growled and flashed his fangs, "Oh, he's gonna pay for that!"

Nya moved to stand between the two groups. "No, he won't. At least not by us. Have him join the Council, Giles; he'd fit right in with their black and white mentality. Maybe they can keep him from getting himself killed within six months," she suggested.

Surprised that she would say that, Giles asked, "Aren't you concerned he'll tell them about you?"

She shook her head, "He can't. No matter how much he would want to, or what method he tried, he simply is incapable of getting around the magical safeguards that I've placed on you. _None_ of you can. I only asked for your promise before so that I would know where you stood. Now, we really have to go before he does anything else to upset my boys. Sorry it had to end this way," Nya said to Giles and Willow.

"Me too, dear girl," Giles returned, saddened that his Slayer was walking away upset with them. Then he felt the motion in his pocket that he placed her card in. They weren't truly done with each other after all.

-----------------------------

A/N: Now Musie feels this story can rest.


End file.
